In any church community, we need to reach out and attend to both the physical and spiritual needs of the community. We cannot ignore one and only focus on the other. For example, if some in the community are poor and have little means to survive, then it is necessary to provide some form of
It is certainly not easy for us to reach out to a person who is in the state of denial. It does not matter whether it is some form of serious illness, a loss, a discovery, or some significant matter; when a person is in denial, it is very difficult to convince the person to
We sometimes come across certain folks who are stuck in their incredulity or disbelief, and obstinacy. Such persons refuse to admit or budge from their way of thinking or way of doing things, even though it has been proven beyond reasonable doubt that their way may not be suitable or relevant, especially in today’s world.
Are we willing to take risks when it comes to doing God’s will? Some of us may be content on just being nominal Christians, thinking that attending Sunday Mass and perhaps getting involved in some church activities is more than enough. But how many of us are willing to go all out and do God’s
Some of us seem to assume that we know it all. For example, by just getting some information about a certain person, some of us form all sorts of conclusions about the person, and think that we know everything about the person. One situation where this may happen is when a priest is posted to
Some of us claim that we have not committed any serious or even mortal sins, but when we claim as such, are we claiming so with pride? It is easy to make such claims, and yet fall into sin by feeling proud about it, or putting others down or looking down on others, thinking that
In the English language, black sheep is an idiom used to describe an odd or disreputable member of a group, especially within a family. The black sheep is the odd one out, whether he’s a disgrace to the family or just doesn’t seem to belong. The origin of the phrase comes from the rare presence
Are we able to forgive our enemies and those who have hurt us in one way or another? Jesus taught us to forgive in different parts of the Gospel, including today’s Gospel. If we ponder on what it means to forgive, we would realise that forgiving is an act of our will, not our emotions.
As humans, we are the same in body parts and composition. We may not necessarily look the same, since we have different skin colour; different body shape and hair style; but deep down inside, we belong to one humanity. Our problem is we tend to distinguish ourselves from others based on language, social status, religion,
Who can we trust in this world? Some of us think that we can trust our parents; some think we can trust our spouse; some think we can trust our children; some think we can trust our brothers, sisters or other relatives; some even think we can trust our friends; but how much can we
